Craving Comfort Food?

Winter is the time of year for warm, classic comfort foods, unfortunately comfort usual equates to calories in most recipes.  Luckily for you, this isn't the case with my low-fat, lower calorie version of lasagna.  Feel free to add as many veggies as you'd like either to the sauce or inside the lasagna- sometimes I like to mix it up and add yellow peppers or portabella mushrooms, you may also change the spinach to another vegetable if you'd prefer, or omit it entirely if you would like the old-school 'meat' and cheese version.  It's incredibly easy (I do cheat and buy the pre-made sauce) and hopefully you'll find it just as delicious as any lasagna you'd get from a restaurant- I know my family did!

Prep time:  60 minutes

Cook time:  60 minutes

Serves: 12

Calories in FITTEST lasagna: 230

Fat in FITTEST lasagna: 2.5 grams

Compare to Twice baked lasagna at Macaroni Grill: 1360 calories, 80 grams of fat 

Ingredients:

- Whole wheat lasagna noodles (About 15 noodles will be needed)

- 1 Container Fat free ricotta cheese (15 oz)

- 2 Cups Fat free cottage cheese

- 3.5 Cups of Fat free or 2% milk mozzarella 

- 1/2 Cup Low Fat Parmesan Cheese

- 2/3 Cup of Egg Whites

- 2 Tsp Oregano

- 1 Cup Fresh Basil

- 2 Cups Fresh Spinach

- 1 Medium Carrot

- 1 Medium Onion

- 3 Tsp of Garlic Powder (to taste)

- 1 Package Quorn Meatless Grounds (made without soy, from mycoprotein & is available in Whole Foods, Ralph's, Target, & other national grocers)

- Olive Oil Spray

- 1 Jar Organic Pasta Sauce (I like Trader Joes Organic Tomato & Basil best, but use your favorite!)

- 1 Jar of Sodium Free Pasta Sauce (I chose Trader Joe's Organic No Salt Added Marinara)

What to do:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

- Boil a large pot of water.

- Ready your ingredients.  Wash and chop the spinach and basil.  Wash and peel the carrot, then, still using the peeler, shred it into thin strings.  Peel and dice the onion.  Set your veggies aside for later.

- Once the water is boiling, carefully add the lasagna noodles and set a timer for 8 minutes.

- Spray a skillet lightly with olive oil and add the Quorn grounds.  It cooks quickly and easily from frozen, on medium heat.  

- Spray a second skillet lightly with olive oil and add the chopped onions.  Sauté them on light heat until tender. 

- Once tender, add half of the onion pieces to the skillet of "meat" and reserve the other half for later.  

- Continue to brown the "meat" and onions, just until thoroughly thawed.  Add 1 tsp of garlic powder and 3/4 of the jar of No Salt Added Marinara to the skillet, making a tasty Bolognese sauce, and lower the heat to a simmer. 

- Check on the lasagna noodles.  They should be cooked al dente, tender, but not over-cooked.

- Once the pasta is ready, drain it over the sink.  Immediately add just a spray or two of olive oil to the noodles and gentle toss to prevent sticking.  

- Once they're cool enough to touch, drape the noodles over the sides of a large bowl until you need them later on.  

- Prepare the cheese filling in a mixing bowl.  Blend the fat free ricotta, cottage cheese, and egg whites using a large spoon. 

- Check on the Bolognese sauce, and don't forget to stir!

- Grate the mozzarella, if it isn't already, and integrate 3 cups of mozzarella and the Parmesan into the mixture.

- Next add the oregano and the other 2 tsp of garlic powder to the cheese blend, stir well.

- Finally, add to the cheese mix the remaining onions, as well as the chopped basil, spinach, and shredded carrots. 

 

- Stir the Bolognese sauce one last time and remove it from heat.  

- Begin assembling the lasagna, first by lightly coating the bottom of your casserole dish with the remaining No Salt Added Marinara sauce.

- Arrange 5 lasagna noodles in an overlapping fashion until you have a full layer.  

- Next add a thin layer of pasta sauce (from your 2nd jar of sauce) on top of the noodles.

- Then scoop 1/2 of your cheese filling onto the noodles and spread it out evenly.

- Cover the cheese with 1/3 of the Bolognese sauce.

- Carefully place another set of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.

- Continue layering in this fashion (noodles, pasta sauce, cheese, Bolognese) until you've used all of your noodles and cheese (you should have 3 sets of noodles and 2 layers of filling).

- Finish with one last layer of Bolognese sauce and a sprinkling of mozzerella cheese.

- Cook your lasagna until the cheese on top is bubbly and the insides are thoroughly warmed.  This should take about an hour, but check on it at 45 minutes just in case!

- Once it's cooked, take the lasagna out of the oven, cover it with foil, and let it sit for 10 minutes (this will make the first piece so much easier to remove!)

- Portion, serve, and enjoy with a fresh salad!

Try it out this weekend and let me know what you think- my family loved it!

Have a fit and fabulous weekend,

Sarah